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Dozens of new attempts to cross illegally into Poland from Belarus: officials

21.08.2023 13:00
A total of 85 people attempted to illegally cross the border from Belarus to Poland on Sunday, and four individuals were detained for enabling these attempts, the Polish Border Guard has said.
Photo:
Photo:X/Polish Border Guard

The agency published the latest figures on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

"On August 20, eighty-five foreigners attempted to cross illegally into Poland from Belarus," the Border Guard said.  

Two "couriers" were arrested for transporting migrants near the Polish border village of Białowieża, officials added. 

One of the couriers, a Ukrainian individual, provided transport for two Syrians, while the other, from Belarus, helped transport two migrants from Syria as well as two Afghans and an Algerian, the Border Guard said.

Meanwhile, border officials in the northeastern village of Dubicze Cerkiewne on Sunday arrested a Moldovan national and a citizen of Azerbaijan for enabling illegal entry into Poland.

One of the men helped transport four Syrians, while the other provided transport for five Afghan citizens, the Border Guard reported.

“So far this year, Border Guard officials have arrested 510 people for organising and enabling illegal crossing of the border” from Belarus, the agency said.

Since the beginning of 2023, there have been more than 19,300 attempts to cross illegally to Poland from Belarus, including over 1,800 in August, the PAP news agency reported.

Earlier, the Border Guard announced that illegal migrants "prevented from entering Poland" this year had come from 49 different countries, and those identified at the border in July from 37 countries.

In a bid to block illegal migration from Belarus, Poland last year built a 186-kilometre-long, 5.5-metre-high steel wall along the shared border, as well as a system of surveillance cameras and motion sensors, the PAP news agency reported.

In 2024, Polish authorities will launch the installation of similar electronic equipment on the banks of the border rivers Bug, Świsłocz and Istoczanka, according to the Border Guard. 

The system of cameras and motion detectors is expected to be co-funded by the European Union, the PAP news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, strazgraniczna.pl